CHAPTER 19

C HAPTER 19

R ats? Mia had rats in the building? Holding in a scream, she moved out of the doorway, but then a small white dog jumped on her legs, wanting to be picked up. She brushed the gray cobwebs off him as she caught her breath.

"Cerby! Did you come out of the house?" Convinced that he didn't have any bugs or more cobwebs on him, Mia picked him up so he wouldn't wander. Then she went back to the open door and reached in to find a light switch. With one flick, the storage room flooded with light.

Mia had known about the storage room, but she hadn't really used it. The area was located behind the elevator and stairs and on the other side of the building from the kitchen, so it hadn't been practical for everyday storage. Mia started to step in, but then she saw footprints on the dusty floor.

Footprints that led from the door, into the storage room. Someone else had known about the door and had come inside recently. Was this how Carla had gotten in? Mia studied the prints. These looked like hiking boots, not the stilettos Carla had been found wearing. But that had been days ago.

The bushes around her rustled, and Mia saw Trent push his way through. He stopped short when he saw her standing by the wall with Cerby. "What are you doing out here, buddy? I just left you in the kitchen with Mom."

"He apparently has been guarding this secret doorway into the house. It's not even locked. Did you know this was here?" Mia pointed to the storage room entrance.

"I didn't. When I found him the other day, he was in the storage room, but I thought he was following Mr. Darcy and got lost." Trent stepped into the room, then closed the door partway. "The door is built into the wall. I don't think you'd even see it if you didn't know it was here. How did you find this?"

"The sun was in just the right spot, I guess. I thought the foundation was cracking." Now there were more footprints in the dust. Maybe she'd seen Trent's footprints from the other day. "Anyway, we need to put a lock on this or something."

He stepped back outside and looked at the door frame. "I'll put a dead lock on the inside. All I need to do is run to the hardware store. I can do it this morning."

"Thanks. I appreciate you more than you know." Mia nodded to the doorway. "I guess we can just go in through here?"

"Ladies first." He nodded toward the entrance and then pulled the door shut after them. "I can't believe we're still finding hidden entrances in this old place. Every time I think we've locked the place down tight, something new comes up. Maybe that library of yours has a floor plan for the school. That way we can locate any other hidden rooms and entrances."

Mia made her way through the shelves until she found the doorway to the hall. It was open a crack, probably where Cerby had come into the room in the first place. Had he heard her open the other door? "Cerby seems to be finding all kinds of things in the house. He found the potion bags and now a secret entrance. I guess his hellhound tendencies are developing."

"I need to finish reading that book Mom gave me about raising hellhounds. I started, but then we got busy with the queen contest." Trent closed the door behind him, then he moved a bookshelf from the hallway in front of the door to block it. "If somebody tries to get in before I get the dead bolt on, at least we'll hear them."

"Thanks. By the way, the library gave me a book on magical creatures that day Cerby got lost. It opened up to a chapter on golems, though, not the hellhound chapter." They walked through the hallway toward the reception room. "I've got it upstairs."

"Golems? I haven't heard about those for years. There were rumors that one of the families made one for a housekeeper, but the coven shut them down as soon as they found out. They don't have souls." He nodded to the kitchen. "Mom knows all about them if you want to know anything."

"I think the library just dropped the book wrong. I might be reading too much into where it was opened to. The book does have a chapter on hellhounds. I'll read it this weekend, then pass the book on to you if you're done with the other one."

Trent rubbed Cerby's head and then set him on the floor. "I need to be as prepared as possible with this little guy. He keeps me on my toes. Mom said she would watch him today. I have to stop in at the store for a bit, but I'll grab the dead bolt and have that installed before noon. Do you need anything at the store?"

"I'm good. I'm going to go up and change, then head down to help your mom in the kitchen. Next week, I'm doing some detailed future planning and determining how much longer I need to work with the Lodge. Maybe between Abigail and me, we can tie down some strong numbers. Especially since Christina is applying for jobs now." Mia paused at the stairwell. "I don't know if she's told Levi yet, so maybe keep that between us?"

"She's told him. He came over the other night, and we talked. That's why I didn't come get Cerby." Trent looked at his watch. "I'll see you for lunch, then."

He left using the front door, leaving both Cerby and Mia watching his abrupt departure. Cerby looked up at her, and Mia shrugged. More for herself than the little dog. "I'm not sure what that was about, Cerby. Sometimes Trent's a mystery." She smiled at him. "Just like you and your investigative hellhound skills."

Cerby barked at her, then ran toward the kitchen, where Abigail was working.

Mia headed upstairs feeling lighter than she had when she got out of bed. Sometimes a run or a workout was just the thing she needed. She just needed to trust the process. Time to get ready for her day.

When she got downstairs, Abigail and Cerby were there alone. Mia pulled on an apron. "Where's Christina?"

"She had a video interview for a job in Oregon. I can't believe they got back to her this quickly. I think they really want to hire her." Abigail made an exaggerated pouting look with her lip. "Can I give her a horrible reference so they change their minds? Like, she steals food from the kitchen all the time?"

"Don't forget to tell them she never showers or washes her hands," Mia chimed in with more possible insults. "And she chews with her mouth open."

"It's impossible. They're going to hire our girl, aren't they?" Abigail put a pan in the oven and set a timer.

"Probably. If they meet her income expectations. I told her to make sure she starts her negotiation for more than what she wants. If she's moving, they need to make it worth her while." Mia glanced at the list with her name on it. "I'm going to miss the kid."

"Me too." Abigail walked over and picked up her own list. "I'm going to bake the cookies and rolls first. I want to leave tonight's appetizers for last so they don't have to be reheated."

"Can you believe we're almost done with this? Tomorrow Trent and I are going to the parade and the festival, and after that I'm just going to chill. No thinking about the business or work or even the food trucks. If they are slammed, I'm not stepping in to help. That's on James and his crew."

Abigail laughed as she took butter out of the fridge. "You know you'd totally jump in if they needed you."

Mia shook her head. "Not tomorrow. Tomorrow is my day, and I don't care what happens. I'm on vacation. Really."

"We'll see." Abigail walked over and turned up the radio. "This is the song we played at our anniversary dinner last year. I love it."

By the time Trent got back from the store and installed the dead bolt, Abigail had lunch ready for the four of them. Christina had come downstairs after her interview and started working on her list. She hadn't said much about how it went, but Mia could feel the excitement rolling off her friend. Christina had a lot to think about.

"I've set lunch up in the reception area rather than outside so we don't get in Jeani and Cheryl's way. They're decorating this afternoon." Abigail glanced at Christina. "Levi will be here tonight, but he's working today. He wants to stay away from Cheryl. She's not taking the hints or the direct statements he's given her about not being interested in dating."

"He should have thought about that before they danced the other night," Christina said, then held up a hand. "Sorry, I take that back. I know he didn't mean to lead her on, but sometimes girls want a fairy-tale ending, including being swept off their feet."

"Christina, I was there. Levi didn't do anything wrong. They were just dancing. Jeani and I were talking about old times, we'd had a few beers, and that was it." Trent followed them out of the kitchen and over to the table, where lunch was waiting. "I would have stopped him if I'd known Cheryl was taking it seriously. Jeani says she has a history of that."

Something was bothering Mia about the conversation. "Wait. Jeani told you that? After that night?"

Trent nodded. "Last Saturday, when they were here finishing up the planning. Cheryl was freaking out because Levi took off for Boise to follow Christina. Jeani pulled me aside and apologized."

"If she knew her sister would take Levi's attention wrong, then why didn't she stop it on Friday night?" Mia asked the question that had been bothering her.

Everyone at the table was quiet, thinking about the answer.

"Look, I don't care, Christina doesn't care. Levi doesn't even care. But Cheryl's hurt from the whole encounter. Jeani had to know Levi and Christina were a couple. Why didn't she tell her sister to stop mooning over him? That it was just for fun?" Mia wasn't liking the way this made Jeani look.

Trent set down his sandwich. "I don't know."

"Well, I've wasted too much time thinking about it." Mia picked up her spoon and took a sip of the vegetable beef soup Abigail had pulled from the freezer stores. "What's going on with the contest? Is Mark going to be here just in case something happens?"

Abigail chuckled. "I didn't think about hiring security for a high school harvest queen contest, but if you think we need to do it, I'll call him."

"Just let him know he's welcome to show up. I'm not sure he's needed. I gave his message to the adults yesterday, and nothing happened last night at the dress rehearsal. So, maybe they realized they can't play their magic tricks to get their daughter that crown." Mia picked up her grilled cheese and green chili sandwich. "Although common sense doesn't seem to be working around here this week."

"Does Mark know who's been behind the retribution magic?" Trent had already eaten his sandwich and reached for the platter in the middle for another one. "These are really good, Mom."

"Thanks." Abigail glanced around the table. "I don't know if Mark can figure that out. Have you heard from Mary Alice about the potion bags?"

Mia shook her head. "Nothing more than they were aimed at anyone in the pageant and that the same person made all the ones we found. Do you think someone was sneaking into the school using that storage room door and planting them? We haven't found any more since Marnie fell under her own sickness spell."

"That was weird too. I wonder when she was going to drop off the lipsticks for the girls. If she'd wanted to do it quietly, she could have gone up before or after the introduction reception," Abigail said.

"She and Rachel came in late, remember? I heard Marnie complaining that Rachel was going to ruin her chances by being late to such an important event. I was waiting for them at the door and moved them right into the event. They were the last to arrive, and Bambi was having a cow about not starting on time." Mia thought about that night. "I'd forgotten about that."

"So, she didn't get the chance to actually implement her plan. Now our villain is reading people's intentions?" Abigail shivered. "I can't even imagine the kind of power you'd have to possess to do that."

"Well, we can eliminate Marnie and Carla since they were both victims. And I think all the girls. Crissy seems to want the crown for verification of her queen bee status with the high school crowd, but I don't see any of them having the power or the motivation to kill each other. This is more of a stage mom thing, right?" Mia looked around the table. "Christina? What do you think?"

She set down her spoon. "When I was in pageants, some of the girls were mean. Not just cruel, but vicious. If any of them had real power, like you guys have, they would have used it in a heartbeat to get what they wanted."

"Okay, so I'm being a Pollyanna." Mia smiled at her friend. "I'll take back my statement."

"Well, at least you stopped the problem before they started on the judges. I would have hated to see Dad get messed up in this." Trent finished off his soup. "Good meal, Mom. Thanks."

"Actually, I think the judges were affected," Abigail said quietly. "I put a protection stone on your dad when he decided to step into this contest. He's been watching the other judges for us. He asked that I keep it a secret. Anyway, Zeus was rushed to the hospital last night after Tatiana went to his hotel room. She said she was just talking, but I'm now worried about her. If the spell is tracking the moms and the girls, I think maybe Tatiana is going to be the next target."

"Is Zeus going to be all right?" Mia really regretted getting involved in this entire event.

"He's fine. They're saying he had a minor stroke. But if this retribution spell is as powerful as we think, maybe he had agreed to judge Crissy higher than the other girls. And maybe he was attacked for it."

"Or he refused and Tatiana took him out." Trent leaned back in his chair. "I can't believe Dad would put himself in harm's way like this. He's not a young guy."

"Don't let your father hear you say that." Abigail pointed her spoon at her middle child. "But you're right. That's why I was so mad. And then your dad said we'd use that to our advantage too. That way no one would suspect that he was watching out for the judges."

"He's an idiot," Mia said, then she held up her hand. "Don't tell him I said that either."

"I know it's all said in love." Thomas came into the reception area through the kitchen. "I wanted to know if lunch was ready. Then I hear all of you saying such nice things about me."

"I'm so sorry, Thomas." Mia felt her face redden.

"Sit down, and I'll bring you out some soup. I didn't know you were coming." Abigail stood and cleared a spot for her husband. "Tell them what you've found out."

He sat and waited for Abigail to return with a full bowl of soup and silverware. "Well, what you were saying was true. It's a retribution spell. Your grandmother pointed that out after Carla died. The coven has been watching the event for the last two years, and there's always an issue with the power usage of the contestants and their families. So, when the contract came up, they asked Abigail to bid for Mia's Morsels and me to volunteer as a judge."

"You had the contract before we even bid?" Mia repeated the idea. "The Lodge was never going to get it. Gosh, I wish I could tell Frank this."

"The coven had discussed just canceling the event. They've had too many incidents in the last few years to believe it was safe to hold it. But they thought they'd gotten through to everyone until Zeus was approached last year for a favor from one of the contestants. He reported it immediately, and the girl and her parents were kicked out of the contest. But there had been rumors of other magic-related issues." Thomas ate some soup before continuing. "But even the coven is stumped this year. They've talked to every family, and no one is claiming responsibility. And they've used a truth spell on them."

"So, someone outside the event is stirring the pot? Why?" Mia didn't understand where that left them.

Thomas leaned back in his chair, mirroring his son's actions earlier. "We don't know. My money would have been on the Evanses. They've always been on the edge of getting a board seat. The dad is always volunteering, but he never follows through. He wants the title, not the work."

"But now Tatiana is caught in the retribution spell. Is she all right? Has anything happened to her?"

Now Thomas got quiet. "She's in the hospital too. They found her nonresponsive in her bed this morning. She's in some sort of a coma."